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4.  THE LOTUS OF BAHAPUR

SHERIAR NOOREYEZDAN

THE designing of a Mashriqu'l-Adhkár is a spiritual undertaking, an effort to clothe religious truth in material garb, an endeavour to symbolize divinity, an attempt to harmonize the aspirations of peoples, an enterprise to establish upon the face of the earth a magnet to attract the bounties of God. It is an adventure in creativity that calls for more than the best architectural skills. The renowned architect of the Wilmette Temple, Louis Burgeois, commenting upon his design for the Mother Temple of the West, has succinctly recorded:  `Its inception was not from man, for, as musicians, artists, poets, receive their inspiration from another realm, so the Temple’s architect, through all his years of labour, was ever conscious that Bahá`u'lláh was the creator of this building to be erected to His glory.’  It is therefore with awe and reverence that an architect approaches the designing of a House of Worship, an edifice designated by the Supreme Pen as the `Dawning-place of the praise of God’. For general guidance the architect first immerses himself in the infallible Writings of Bahá`u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá and seeks guidance in the writings of Shoghi Effendi.
    Bahá`u'lláh in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas calls upon His followers to erect in every city Houses of Worship in His Name, as perfect as can be built on earth, wherein praise of the Lord may resound in a spirit of joy and radiance, hearts illumined and eyes solaced. Among the encouragements and instructions that flowed from the pen of `Abdu'l-Bahá to the early American believers engaged in raising the Mother Temple in Wilmette is this brief description of the `Ishqábád Temple:  It has nine avenues, nine gardens, nine fountains, so it is nine on nine, all nines. It is like a beautiful banquet. Just imagine an edifice of that beauty in the centre, very lofty, surrounded by gardens, variegated flowers . . . That is the way it should be . . . matchless . . . most beautiful. And from the stream of directives of the beloved Guardian to National Spiritual Assemblies and individuals involved in the raising of different Houses of Worship the architect gleans that great emphasis is laid upon the elegance and dignity of the building.
    These being the general overall instructions with regard to the design, the architect must in addition take into account the religious and cultural background of the people of the land, accommodating their susceptibilities and aspirations. Ideally, the design must be distinctive yet unrelated to any established school of architecture and dissimilar to traditional places of communal worship so as to attract all and exclude none. The architect is therefore called upon to weave into his design the basic tenets and symbolize the fundamental aim of the Cause of God.
    Mr. Faríburz Sahbá, architect of the Mother Temple of India, had never conceived or attempted a total design for a Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, although he had had some notions and innovative ideas on separate elements of a building with such spiritual significance. It was the Hand of the Cause Dr. Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir who first suggested to Mr. Sahbá, who was then working as an associate architect on the design of the permanent Seat of the Universal House of Justice, that he prepare a design for the Indian Temple. Mr. Sahbá admits, `This suggestion and the thought of such an undertaking kept me awake many nights.’ For the first time he began to give serious thought to this subject and he put on paper the images and ideas he had conceived for some separate elements of a Mashriqu'l-Adhkár. Realizing the importance of a greater understanding and deeper appreciation of the multi-faceted culture of India, Mr. Sahbá embarked upon a `voyage of discovery’ to India whose rich and varied culture awed, illumined and inspired him. He travelled the length and breadth of the sub-continent with an open mind, later stating:  `This journey provided me with a fresh insight into the boundless horizons of Indian culture and heightened my esteem and respect for India. I also realized the difficulty of the task of producing a design, a concept, a symbol that would transcend every barrier of region, religion, language, caste and culture and

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which would be capable of attracting the hearts of the varied and pure-hearted people of India.’
    Elsewhere in this volume Mr. Sahbá has related how he came to select as the design concept of the Temple the lotus, significant in Indian mythology and associated with worship in that country from time immemorial.. It became his task to work this concept into a design that would reveal the simplicity, clarity, freshness and unifying power of the Bahá`í Revelation and a constant reminder that all Revelation springs from one divine source. He was concerned that the building should inspire reverence and be spiritually uplifting.
    With his thoughts crystallized, Mr. Sahbá returned to the drawing-board. Step by step the building took shape on paper. He wanted the Temple to resemble the lotus bloom in its natural habitat as closely as possible. Into such a design there had to be worked, naturally, the directives of `Abdu'l-Bahá on the general design of a Mashriqu'l-Adhkár. Nine leaves were created which serve as entrances and give the appearance of the completely opened petals of the lotus. Nine inner leaves constitute the dome, the leaves converging at the apex and giving the appearance of petals just opening. And in order that the building resemble a natural lotus a third medial set of nine outer leaves was provided, these giving the appearance of semi-opened petals. Internally, thirty-six unopened petals, or the lotus bud, took the form of nine thin hemispherical shells of concrete criss-crossing each other and constituting the interior dome.
    A Mashriqu'l-Adhkár is to have nine pools and fountains, according to the wish of `Abdu'l-Bahá, so nine pools were provided.
    Administrative offices, conference and audio-visual rooms, residential accommodation for the caretaker and other facilities were provided in the two wings of an ancillary building landscaped into the design by exploiting the natural contours of the site. All this gave symmetry and shape to the building but many other factors needed to be considered such as electrification, plumbing and water drainage and a suitable system of air-conditioning that would make the temperature inside the auditorium equitable and comfortable in the extreme temperatures of Delhi.
    For the internal illumination of the Temple Mr. Sahbá concealed all electrical lighting within the interior dome or the folds of unopened lotus petals, so that when the lights were turned on a soft translucent light would fill the auditorium giving the impression of natural light filtering from outside through the folds of the lotus bud. This would also symbolize divine bounties and spiritual illumination flowing through the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár to the worshippers within. External illumination of the building was designed to highlight only the superstructure against the dark skyline so as to give the impression that the Temple was not anchored to the earth like ordinary buildings, but appeared as a bright lotus bloom suspended between heaven and earth. The architect had always thought of using light and water to underline the characteristics of the Temple and he has effectively done so in his design. With a stroke of genius he has created an eminently practical and economical system of air-conditioning the large central auditorium using the pools and fountains already provided. The natural slope of the land is made use of in the creation of a large basement at the level of the pools. The floor of the auditorium is lowered by three feet so that five steps lead down from the outer podium and the spaces between the steps act like louvres that allow the air, cooled naturally by passing over the pools and through the fountain sprays, into the auditorium at floor level. The warm air rises up to the dome and escapes at the top so that a convection current is set up and the structure acts as a chimney. This process is supplemented by impellers and expellers fixed in the basement and interior dome respectively. The entire system can be reversed during winter so that the temperature within the auditorium is always equitable.
    Now the architect’s inspired dream had to be objectified in a building of structural reliability to serve as a monument that would stand for several centuries. This important responsibility was given to Flint and Neill of London, the renowned firm of structural engineers who worked on the Panama Temple. For over a year Mr. Sahbá and Dr. Flint, with the assistance of specialist engineers and the use of computers, collaborated in working out all the details of the building’s structure. A

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great deal of research and study had to be undertaken in London and Delhi and voluminous data, not easily assembled, were collected. As no geological survey reports were available test bores were made in order to study the rock stratification of the area. Meteorological statistics of the past one hundred years were researched to note the highest and lowest temperatures recorded, the strongest winds, the severest earthquakes, the wettest monsoon and extremes of humidity. All these details, so critical in the designing of a monumental building, were painstakingly gathered and catered for in the final architectural and structural designs. All structural drawings and calculations were double-checked in Geneva through the good offices of Prof. Hushmand Naimi, lecturer and consultant in structural engineering.
    Nor did the checking end there. Although the ehaviour of reinforced concrete and that of its ingredients are well known, yet the determination of the type of concrete and its strength for each part of the structure became a study in itself and called for conferences with specialist concrete technologists and the specialists of the Concrete Association of England. Moreover, a scale model of the Temple was made by specialists in London and subjected to various tests not usually applied to building designs. Wind tunnel tests proved that the building could withstand the strongest wind forces and rotary movement of the high superstructure was well provided for. To study the efficiency of the natural air-conditioning system coloured smoke was injected from various points into the transparent plexi-glass model, and the movement as well as rate of evacuation of the smoke bore out the viability of the design.
    While no efforts could be spared to create a building `upon which depended the prestige of the Cause’ and to design a structure that would conform to the general configuration prescribed by `Abdu'l-Bahá, that would be both symbolic and of aesthetic beauty and that would be of such structural integrity as to last several centuries, the designers laboured under a serious constraint. They did not have the freedom to employ the best materials and technology available in the world but were limited to the use of materials, skills and equipment available in India. At every stage the availability and quality of essential materials had to be verified and references continually made to the Code of Indian Standards for construction materials; the available diameters and graders of steel; the types and strengths of cement manufactured; availability of copper pipes for superstructure water drainage; of lead sheets for flashings; of galvanized reinforcement bars; of glass sheets of the required thickness for glazing; of cladding materials such as marble or special ceramic tiles for the petals, and hundreds of other items which are easily obtained in western countries. This major constraint notwithstanding, the design that finally emerged bears eloquent testimony to the inspiration and bounty that were bestowed upon the designers. Their dedicated efforts were crowned with the completion of a design that has already attracted the attention of the architectural and civil engineering worlds and has come to be considered among professionals as one of the outstanding designs of the century. The model of the House of Worship has been accorded a place of distinction in the construction department of the Science Museum of London and after completion of construction the model will be sent there.
    Mr. Sahbá’s three-year long odyssey of study and prayerful search was over at last and his chosen design was captured in some four hundred blueprints ready to be translated into an exquisite building. The final design and layout were presented to the Universal House of Justice in 1977. It was proposed that within the rectangular plot of land measuring about 450 metres in length in an east-west direction and 220 metres in width the Temple building would be located at the western end with its main entrance facing east. Entry to the Temple ground would be from the main road leading to a parking area at the east end of the estate. A 250-metre walkway would lead to the ancillary building between the two wings of which would rise the main entrance steps to the Temple. At a point some 50 metres from the ancillary building two corresponding paths would diverge to the south and north for access to other entrances of the Temple. The ancillary building, completely landscaped and almost concealed, would provide about 900 square metres of space for administrative and other services. The steps between the wings of

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the ancillary building would lead to a bridge over the pools and onto the outer podium or walkway around the main building. Facing each of the nine bridges would be a doorway into the auditorium canopied by its entrance petal 7..5 metres high. Standing between the entrance petal and inner petals would be the outer petals, 22.5 metres in height, surrounding the external dome made up of the nine inner petals. The diameter of the dome would be 35 metres and its height 28 metres from the floor of the auditorium and 43 metres from the main entrance steps. All the petals that, with the interior dome, comprise the superstructure would be thin double curvatured coroidal shells of white concrete finish internally and clad externally with white marble. The doorways would lead into the auditorium down five steps under nine massive arches. The auditorium would be circular with a diameter of 36 metres and have a seating capacity of about 1,200, which could be increased by an additional 1,000 seats in the triangular balconies formed between the entrance and outer petals. The balcony and auditorium floors, as well as the steps and arches, would be covered with white marble, and the walkway around the central auditorium with red sandstone. The outer podium over the pools up to the bridges would be edged with specially designed and precast banisters in white concrete. There would be a walkway around the tops of all nine pools while steps would take visitor and worshipper to the lower walkway at basement level around four of the pools. These walkways and steps would also be covered with red sandstone. Thus a part of the outer basement area would be open to visitors and the remainder would be enclosed and used for various installations and equipment. The distance across the pools would be about 120 metres while the area of each pool would be 500 square metres. Fountains would jet water outwards across the one-metre deep pools. Water in the pools would be replaced periodically but would be continuously filtered and kept clean by filtration plants ensconced beneath the bridge abutments. The surrounding grounds would be suitably landscaped and beautified with decorative trees and flowering plants.
    The concept and design met with the general approval of the Universal House of Justice which, on 3 August 1977, confirmed Mr. Sahbá’s appointment, stating:  `We are profoundly impressed by the beauty of the concept you have presented.’  When Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum was invited to view the model she summed up the appreciation of all. In her own words:  `When I was invited by the Universal House of Justice to see this design, I was apprehensive. Being an architect’s daughter I know what a difficult problem it is to design a circular nine-sided building. But when I saw this beautiful model I was deeply impressed and I think that it will be a wonderful thing and very much loved in India.’  On the symbolism of the lotus, Rúhíyyih Khánum added:  `The lotus has not only an association with Buddhism and Hinduism, but, par excellence, it is the symbol of the Manifestation of God. The lotus is probably the most perfect flower in the whole world. It is symmetrical, it is exquisitely beautiful. And how does it grow? It grows in a swamp and it raises its head out of the slime absolutely clean and perfect. Now this is what the Manifestation of God is in the world:  perfect. He comes out of the slime. He comes from the worst place in the planet. He appears amongst the worst people in the planet, so that nobody can say that we made Him. They say only God brings forth such a being from such an environment. This is perhaps the greatest symbolism of the lotus.’

Fund Raising
    Those beacons of divine illumination, the majestic Houses of Worship standing in different continents of the globe beckoning the foundering ship of human society to the safe haven of the Cause of God, have been raised through the sacrificial outpourings of the world-wide community of the Greatest Name and are manifestations of the zeal and dedication of the followers of Bahá`u'lláh. The Mashriqu'l-Adhkár is a divinely-ordained institution of the Cause of God and endowed with power and potency so great that the beloved Master, `Abdu'l-Bahá, has affirmed that its mystery cannot be understood. We have His assurance that Some material things have spiritual effect, and the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, though outwardly a material foundation, is possessed of spiritual effect and causes the union of hearts and the gathering of souls. In

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their eagerness, therefore, to fulfil one of the injunctions of the Supreme Pen and to raise in the world institutions that can alter constructively the course of history and the spiritual destiny of nations and peoples, Bahá`ís everywhere rise spontaneously and make every sacrifice necessary, delighting to avail themselves of the priceless opportunity to share in such a glorious spiritual enterprise. The beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, has emphasized ` . . . the greater the sacrifice, the greater the power of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár’.
    During the Ten Year Crusade, after approval of Shoghi Effendi was received for the land, the National Spiritual Assembly entered into negotiations with the owners of the five separate plots that were comprised in the total area of about 92,000 square metres (22.5 acres) and settled for a price of Rs. 140,289. This was a considerable sum of money for the number of believers at that time, and the National Spiritual Assembly set about raising the sum. The amount was distributed among the communities of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon, then under one jurisdiction, and members of the National Assembly set out in different directions to acquaint the believers with the need and to encourage them to raise this unprecedentedly large sum. The extraordinary response of a modest and devout believer, Mr. Ardashír Rustampúr of Hyderabad, Sind, is alluded to in the `In Memoriam’ article appearing elsewhere in this volume of the international record. As if he had waited a lifetime for this opportunity, he placed before the astonished members of the National Assembly, Mr. Isfandiar Bakhtiari and Mr. Abbas Aly Bhatt, his entire savings of Rs. 100,190 accumulated from the operation of his restaurant, remarking:  `It is not my money; all of it belongs to Bahá`u'lláh and I am happy to return it. I have been merely a trustee, a temporary keeper.’
    When discrete enquiries by the representatives of the National Spiritual Assembly revealed that indeed Mr. Rustampúr had no other savings and had kept nothing whatever for any contingencies they expressed to him their concern, urging him to keep some amount for himself, and received his ready reply:  `What I have given to the Cause I cannot take back. If I deserve it, then Bahá`u'lláh will surely meet my future needs.’  Only at the insistence of the National Assembly representatives, and as a token of obedience, did Mr. Rustampúr relent and agree to accept Rs. 190. His magnanimous contribution covered the total cost of the first and largest of five plots. Now, as long as the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár stands at Bahapur, will generations of Bahá`ís recall the generosity and be inspired by the devotion of this humble believer.
    Fund-raising for the construction of the Temple began in a very strange way and in a most unexpected place. A Bahá`í serving a prison sentence in Mozambique had made some simple rings out of ivory and had sent one to Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum when she was in Africa. At the time of the dedication of the Panama Temple in 1972 when Rúhíyyih Khánum addressed the friends she expressed her thought that `it would be lovely if we sent a little nest-egg from the dedication of this Temple for the next Bahá`í Temple that will be built’ and she offered the ivory ring for sale. Present at that gathering was a young Bahá`í from Hawaii who was a jeweller. Though not a wealthy man he had, in the course of his business, come into possession of a very large emerald. Impetuously, and though he could ill-afford it, he offered the valuable emerald, worth at least $25,000 to $30,000, for the inexpensive ivory ring. Later the secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of Panama went to Hawaii especially to take charge of the emerald which had, in the meantime, been set in a large gold setting and she delivered it to Rúhíyyih Khánum during the International Convention in Haifa in 1973. Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum entrusted the beautiful gem to the members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Írán, also present at the Convention, instructing them to auction it, accept the highest bid and contribute the proceeds as the first contribution to the cost of constructing the future Mashriqu'l-Adhkár to be erected during the next teaching Plan. The emerald fetched the handsome sum of approximately $100,000. Mysterious indeed are the ways of God! The simple ivory ring made in an African prison and worth perhaps one dollar, but offered with complete sincerity and love, became the largest single contribution and the nest-egg from the Panama Temple to the

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Indian Temple. Nor was this the end of it, for when Rúhíyyih Khánum narrated this touching story at the time the foundation stone at of the Indian Temple was laid at Bahapur on 17 October 1977 the participants in that historic gathering were so moved that many divested themselves of their gold jewellery for the temple fund, made cash offers on the spot and pledged contributions. Thus the simple restaurateur of Hyderabad, the prisoner of Mozambique and the Hawaiian jeweller became the foremost benefactors of the Mother Temple of the Indian sub-continent and their example would be emulated by a host of equally dedicated believers throughout the Bahá`í world.
    This befitting beginning of the fund-raising was followed by a more sustained and continuous process. Interestingly, after the Indian Temple fund was announced internationally, among the first contributions to be received from abroad was from the Bahá`í children’s Moral Class of Samoa where another House of Worship was concurrently under construction. As reports of progress of construction were disseminated throughout the Bahá`í world community the slow trickle of contributions swelled to a steady flow from both east and west. All at once it appeared as though the Bahá`í world had taken the lotus Temple to its heart. Each envelope received at the Temple office brought a token of love and devotion to the Cause. The heartwarming messages that accompanied the contributions were so touching as to bring tears to the eyes. Those servants of Bahá`u'lláh from the far-flung corners of the world ceased to be faceless believers but were seen as partners with us in a great spiritual enterprise. The participation of the Bahá`ís in achieving a common spiritual goal formed a bond that linked continents and countries with Bahapur. Repeated and regular contributions were received from many individuals and communities, strengthening the bond. Was this part of the mystery of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár spoken of by `Abdu'l-Bahá? Indeed, the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, when completed, would symbolize the unity and strength of the Bahá`í community, would manifest the potency and divinity of the Supreme Pen and would disseminate the divine fragrances—as assured by the Universal House of Justice—not only among the multitudes in the Indian sub-continent but throughout Asia. Whereas the believers in all lands, territories and islands of the globe have contributed their mite to the Temple fund, it is significant that the beleaguered and oppressed community of the Greatest Name in Írán have been at this time deprived of this privilege and bounty. However, the very news of the progress of construction of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár must assuredly bring to their hearts a measure of cheer. Within India itself the believers have responded with great generosity and self-sacrifice.. One anonymous village Bahá`í, for example, dropped into the Temple fund box at an area teaching conference all the money he had, a two-paise coin (one-fifth of a cent) for which another believer offered Rs. 100). Their efforts to date have resulted in the community being able to meet twenty-three per cent of the construction cost incurred thus far.

Construction
    One of the goals of the Ten Year Crusade was the acquisition of sites for Houses of Worship in three Asian capitals, including New Delhi. The National Spiritual Assembly of India, Pakistan and Burma (as it was known from 1947 to 1957) set about locating a suitable site, their choice falling upon a large tract of hilly land in a totally undeveloped area of south Delhi. The site, which, as has been stated, comprised five plots collectively and measured about 92,000 square metres, was approved by the beloved Guardian. When the land revenue officials visited the site to demarcate the boundaries, their records revealed that the land was part of an ancient village named Bahapur, `Abode of Baha’. Bahá`ís see in this the mysterious hand of Providence. The hillock, they feel, was destined to become the footstool of God and the location of the Mother Temple of the Indian sub-continent.. The area was marked off by a low brick wall and a plaque was mounted designating the property as the site of a Bahá`í Temple. This accomplished, the Bahá`í community looked forward to the next development which took place in August 1977 when the Universal House of Justice approved the Temple design and appointed Mr. Sahbá as architect. On 17 October 1977 Amatu'l-Bahá

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Rúhíyyih Khánum laid the foundation stone of the Temple amid prayers and recitations of praise and gratitude to Bahá`u'lláh.
    An excavation contractor was appointed and work got under way at a steady pace. The site being on the brow of a hill its topsoil had been eroded and the foundation pits had to be carved out of granite rock, weathered and soft in some places but mostly hard and difficult to excavate. During a period of almost twelve months a huge bowl approximately 150 metres in diameter was cut out of the hillside and, within the bowl, seven sets of nine foundation pits in concentric circles for the sixty-three columns and abutments that support the building. Meanwhile the contract and tender documents were drafted in England and in September 1979 tenders were invited. Six of the largest and most experienced companies in India made bids for the contract which, after exhaustive study and comparison, was awarded to Engineering Construction Corporation Ltd. on the first day of Ridván 1980. Mobilization of the site took about two months, during which period the contractor brought engineers, surveyors, men and equipment to the area and the next month saw the growth of a little township at Bahapur including site offices, storage facilities, accommodation for labourers, etc.
    When trimming and preparation of the pits began it was discovered that in many of the pits soft and dangerous micaceous strata existed. This called for further excavation until hard base-rock was reached in all pits, some at depths of thirty feet. The pits from which would rise the load-bearing columns of the main building were enlarged and deepened to ensure the consistency of hard-rock strata. A total quantity of about 6,000 cubic metres of rock was excavated, enough to build a stone wall five feet high and one foot thick extending over twelve kilometres. The excavation was completed without any mechanical equipment and all excavated rock and earth was carried in head-loads.
    30 July 1980 marked the day of the structural `birth’ of the House of Worship. While the sun played hide-and-seek among the dark monsoon clouds Mrs. Golnar Sahbá poured the first trowelful of concrete into the first pit of the innermost circle of columns. Prayers were offered and, following tradition, coconuts were broken and sweets were distributed to the gathering which included representatives of the Continental Board of Counsellors, National Spiritual Assembly, the Delhi Bahá`í community and visiting Bahá`ís. On that momentous occasion the Universal House of Justice inspired all with its cable:  REJOICE NEWS COMMENCEMENT CONSTRUCTION MASHRIQULADHKAR HEART INDIAN SUBCONTINENT. THIS ACHIEVEMENT IS IN SHARP CONTRAST SAD HAPPENINGS CRADLE FAITH AND WILL BE SOURCE DELIGHT BELIEVERS ALL LANDS. SUPPLICATING SACRED THRESHOLD THAT TEMPLE OF LIGHT WILL SOON BECOME INSTRUMENT RADIATE DIVINE GUIDANCE ILLUMINE HEARTS OF THE MULTITUDES. MAY BAHAIS OF INDIA ARISE TO MEET RESPONSIBILITIES RENDER UTMOST ASSISTANCE RAISING THIS BEAUTIFUL EDIFICE IN THE NAME OF BAHAULLAH.
    Then came the pouring of concrete to the required levels into the readied pits from which the column footings would rise. Soon the site was alive with the staccato sound of pneumatic drills, chugging and puffing of diesel-driven concrete mixers, whining of concrete vibtarors, shouts of supervising foremen and the sing-song of women carrying head-loads of concrete from the mixers. By December 1980 all the yawning foundation pits were filled and the columns began to rise, while the general areas between the columns making up the basement of the main building and floor of the ancillary building were levelled. Now the outlines of the building were discernible.
    By January 1981 when the Hand of the Cause Paul Haney visited the site, many columns stood, like silent sentinels, and others were in various stages of construction. The site took on a colourful look as work progressed. The required concrete was churned out, under the watchful eyes of supervisors, by two mixers working in tandem at two convenient locations. Male workers mixed the concrete and filled pressed-steel vessels which their womenfolk carried on their heads, walking back and forth between mixers and site like an endless human conveyor belt.¹  The women, clad in their traditional saris of many

¹ Approximately ninety families were among the 500 workers at the site. They were provided with living facilities, and a nursery and primary school were set up at the site to care for and educate the infants and children while their parents were working.

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hues and marching sedately in time to their own singing, worked cheerfully in two groups, vying with each other. Thus all the columns of the main building were raised, as were also those of the ancillary building and its reinforced concrete walls.
    9 May 1981 marked the commencement, amid prayers and the distribution of sweets, of concreting of the podium which was completed by 16 September. Day and night the site during this period presented a picture of feverish activity with each team of skilled workers discharging its allotted responsibility and moving on to the next podium section while another team took over in rapid succession to carry out its part of the operation. In addition to the normal supervision and precautions usual in the Indian construction industry consideration had to be paid to the extremely high temperatures in Delhi. When possible, concreting was programmed to take place during the cooler summer nights under floodlights, and when concrete temperatures rose above the stipulated maximum, tons of ice had to be added to the concrete mix to lower the temperature. During the podium concreting, a new element—the contractor’s giant tower crane—was introduced. One of the two concrete batching plants was assigned to the crane and the second remained the preserve of the labourers. Whereas earlier two labour crews had vied with each other in concreting footings and columns, now humans pitted themselves in high spirits against a machine. While the crane scooped up hopper-loads of concrete, swinging into position and emptying 1,000 kilograms of concrete with a giant hiss, women who made up the human conveyor belt rushed from mixer to site and back with 25-kilogram head-loads of concrete—and they invariably won. It was estimated that during the nineteen weeks devoted to the concreting of the podium each woman worker carried some 7,500 kilograms of concrete in 25-kilogram head-loads over 21 kilometres in an eight-hour working day! The quantity of material making up the podium with its columns—40,000 bags of cement, 3,600 cubic metres of aggregate (making 4,000 cubic metres of concrete) and 450 metric tons of reinforcement bars—would have been sufficient to have raised a solid concrete block 25 feet square and 225 feet high, the height of a twenty-storey building. While podium concreting progressed, the rise of the ancillary building kept pace and rose to join the main building over the main entrance bridge that connects the two structures.
    Construction of the substructure and podium, being of the normal column-beam-slab type, presented no special technical problems. However, construction of the superstructure with its thin double-curvatured shell elements was something that had never before been attempted in India and necessitated almost eighteen months’ study, discussion, resort to computer facilities and the making of full-scale mock-ups. Designing of the temporary steel staging and support system for the superstructure construction alone, involving the planning, fabrication and erection of some 1,200 metric tons of structural steel, presented

Picture in Upper Right Corner with the Caption:  Construction worker at Temple site; 1983.

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more technical challenges than the contractor had ever faced before. Time and perseverance resolved all problems and overcame all challenges.
    The exquisite beauty of the lotus design is in the perfect symmetry and sheer lines of the `petals’. Hence, in the construction of the superstructure adherence to the exact geometry of the design was most critical and the error tolerance virtually nil. Checking systems that were virtually foolproof had to be devised. The degree of accuracy required had to be achieved, especially in the formwork, with age-old traditional implements. Any oversight or error would be magnified a hundredfold and completely destroy the symmetry and beauty of the building.
    The first elements of the superstructure to be constructed had to be the nine massive arches, 8 metres high and 10 metres wide, that gave entry into the central auditorium of the House of Worship. That happy day when all the check-list and pour cards were signed off for the first arch concreting was 26 March 1982. Once again the concrete mixers came to life churning out a very rich mix of concrete. When day temperatures were too high during the months of May and June concreting of the arches was carried out under floodlights at night, and under waterproof tarpaulins when monsoon clouds threatened. There was something special about the second arch to be constructed. This was the arch that faced the Qiblih of the Bahá`í world, and in its crown, which from the centre of the auditorium exactly faces `Akká, were embedded on 3 April 1982, the foundation stone and a brick from the Síyáh-Chál, as directed by the Universal House of Justice. The ninth arch was completed on 26 July 1982. The total quantity of materials that went into the arches was sufficient to build a reinforced concrete bridge half a kilometre long and twenty feet wide. Upon completion of this phase of construction another inspiring message was received from the House of Justice:  NEWS COMPLETION FIRST PHASE SUPERSTRUCTURE TEMPLE NEW DELHI CAUSED MUCH JOY. CONGRATULATE APPRECIATE EFFORTS DEVOTED SOULS DIRECTLY INVOLVED THIS MAGNIFICENT PROJECT. ASSURE FERVENT PRAYERS SUCCESS FURTHER STEPS.
    The unique characteristic of the superstructure is that it contains no element with even a single straight line. Such structures cannot be described in the ordinary plan-and-section drawings. Extraordinary measures had to be adopted including the building of full-scale sections of different superstructure elements in timber for use as templates. The most practical method of ensuring accuracy of geometry was found to be to check the curvatures in both directions of every formwork panel with the special templates, then completely assemble, at ground level, all the panels constituting the complete formwork or mould of each element, rechecking the overall geometry with other templates, number and dismantle the panels and reassemble them in their respective positions in the structure. Indeed, construction of the superstructure is so difficult that a well-known British architect, having glanced over the drawings, opined:  `To construct such a building in Europe will be difficult; in India, impossible.’  The complexity of the structure was also underscored by a senior Italian engineer of the firm supplying marble for the external shell cladding who remarked, after studying the drawings and the mock-ups:  `I cannot sleep at night for thinking how to cover these leaves with marble.’  One wonders, therefore, how those persons can sleep who are charged with the responsibility of supervision and construction of such a complex structure.
    Another unique feature of the superstructure construction is that it is in white concrete, and galvanized reinforcement bars are used, both for the first time in India. Special efforts were made to locate sources for the best quality white aggregate and white sand to be used with white cement for the superstructure concreting operation.
    With the gigantic staging erected upon the auditorium floor to support the formwork of the inner leaves, the checked and numbered panels were raised to their respective positions and fastened in place. Panel by panel each inner leaf took shape reaching 30 metres into the sky and was subjected to a final geometry check-out with sensitive instruments. The next phase of work will be the tying of reinforcement bars before the back shutters are erected and the `sandwich’ is completed. Then each leaf will be concreted, non-stop over twenty-four hours to completion, using

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Two Pictures:

Caption of Top Picture:  The Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of the Indian sub-continent under construction; 1 December 1981. A general view of the site shows the city of New Delhi in the distance.

Caption of Bottom Picture:  Construction work in progress on the Mother Temple of the Indian sub-continent near New Delhi, India; 19 April 1983.

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the `climbing shutters’ method and other phases of construction will proceed, step by step, until that longed-for day when the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of the Indian sub-continent—the lovely lotus Temple—will welcome through its portals worshippers from every part of the world.

Picture at Bottom of the Page with the Caption:  Architect’s model of completed Temple.

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